LOS ANGELES TRUCK ACCIDENT
LAWYERS

Why trucking cases are different

An 80,000-pound vehicle striking a passenger car produces catastrophic injuries at speeds that would be survivable otherwise. But the difference that matters legally is structural.

Interstate motor carriers are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which impose detailed, enforceable requirements on driver qualification, hours of service, vehicle inspection and maintenance, drug and alcohol testing, and cargo securement. A violation of those rules is powerful evidence of negligence in a way that has no equivalent in an ordinary car case.

The other difference: trucking companies know this. Many dispatch an investigator to serious crash scenes within hours — photographing, measuring, and interviewing witnesses before anyone on the injured side has hired a lawyer.

The evidence that disappears

This is the most urgent issue in any truck case.

• Electronic logging device data. Federal rules require most drivers to use ELDs recording hours of service, and carriers must retain those records for a defined period — commonly six months. After that, lawful destruction.
• The engine control module. Modern tractors record speed, braking, throttle position, and often hard-braking events in the seconds before impact. That data can be overwritten when the truck returns to service, or lost entirely when the vehicle is repaired.
• Driver qualification files. Employment history, medical certification, road test records, motor vehicle reports, and prior violations. These are where negligent hiring claims are proved.
• Maintenance and inspection records. Pre-trip and post-trip inspection reports, repair orders, brake service history.
• Dashcam and facility video. Frequently on a 30-day overwrite cycle.
• Drug and alcohol testing records. Post-accident testing is required under defined circumstances.

The response is a spoliation letter — formal written notice to the carrier and its insurer identifying each category and demanding preservation. Sent early, it both protects the evidence and creates consequences if it's destroyed anyway. Sent late, it's a formality.

Who's actually liable

Truck cases usually involve several potentially responsible parties, and identifying all of them matters because each may carry separate insurance.

• The driver, for negligent operation.
• The motor carrier, both vicariously for the driver's conduct within the scope of employment and directly — for negligent hiring, negligent training, negligent supervision, negligent retention, or negligent maintenance. Direct claims against the company are often the more valuable theory, because they reach the company's own conduct and its own decisions.
• The broker or shipper, in some circumstances, including negligent selection of an unsafe carrier or improper loading.
• A maintenance contractor, where mechanical failure contributed.
• A parts manufacturer, in defect cases involving brakes, tires, or coupling equipment.
• A public entity, where roadway design or maintenance contributed — which carries that six-month claim deadline.

Available insurance

Federal regulation requires interstate motor carriers hauling general freight to maintain minimum liability coverage of $750,000, with substantially higher requirements for carriers transporting hazardous materials — up to $5 million depending on the cargo.

In practice, most established carriers carry considerably more, often through layered excess policies. This matters for catastrophic injuries, where the at-fault party in an ordinary car case simply doesn't have enough coverage to make the plaintiff whole.

Common causes we investigate

• Driver fatigue and hours-of-service violations
• Speeding, particularly on downgrades
• Distracted driving
• Improperly loaded or unsecured cargo shifting in transit
• Brake failure and inadequate maintenance
• Tire blowouts from underinflation or wear
• Inadequate training for conditions
• Unsafe lane changes and wide turns
• Impairment
• Unqualified drivers who should never have been hired